Troublesome Moonlight
by JadeyTheKitty
Summary: Set in the Marauders' Fifth year. It's just another full moon, another night of fun, or is it? Someone is prepared to end the fun, but the Marauders refuse to go down without a fight.


**Troublesome Moonlight**

* * *

Remus stared blearily at the Potions master as he outlined several complicating steps for the mixing of a potion. What the potion was called or what it was used for was a complete mystery to the fifteen year old.

This, of course, was quite unusual for Remus Lupin. On a normal day he would be soaking in every word a professor spoke as if were some form of dehydrated sponge.

Today, however, he wasn't feeling well.

Remus blinked once and then again, his eyes feeling heavier by the moment as the Potions master explained the known properties of wolfbane and something about how it might be used in the future to cure… something.

Remus barely registered what he heard as he drifted off into an exhaustion induced slumber, his sleep fogged brain thinking the ludicrous thought that perhaps his friend, Sirius Black, was taking notes.

The boy who was supposedly going to take notes was kicked back in his chair, feet on his desk, watching the potions master dutifully through a pair of glasses identical to those of his best friend, James Potter, who was currently watching _him_ with amusement.

The potions master coughed and eyed the class, completely missing the boy who had fallen asleep behind his textbook and looking instead at Black. The boy and his friends were a thorn in his side, and a constant one at that.

He paused in his explanation of the ingredients in the classes' assigned potion.

"Mr. Black, please inform us of the uses of beetle eyes, and how they will be used in this poti—"

A loud snore interrupted the wiry many before he could complete his question. The Potions master glanced around for the source of the sound, his gaze landing briefly on the sleeping form of Remus Lupin before the snore sounded again halfway across the room, this time coupled with laughter. He whipped around to see Black, supposedly still wide awake, yet snoring, and Potter doubled over in his chair and beating the table with his fist as he laughed.

James straightened up as the potion master stalked towards them, murder flashing in his hard, gray eyes. James attempted to put on an innocent face and almost managed to, but the sound of Sirius's snoring once again caused him to double over with another fit of laughter.

The professor pulled out his wand and after saying, "_Acio_ glasses!" discovered the truth. Sirius Black wasn't awake at all, but had charmed the glasses to make him appear so.

Of course, his plan had gone awry when he had started to snore...

James watched as Sirius was immediately seized by the ear and dragged out of the room by the professor, who kept muttering under his breath so that only snatches of the conversation he was having with himself could be heard.

"Disrupted my class ten times... Dumbledore will do something about you... Bet your little friend… something to do with this…"

James applauded with a smirk, as Sirius jerked free long enough to take a bow before being seized and dragged off once again.

"Don't get in too bad a way, Sirius!" James called, laughing.

* * *

Remus stared unhappily at his food as the three friends listened to Sirius begin to discuss his heralding adventure through the school as Professor Hikage's prisoner, detailing what had happened when he was handed over into the custody of Dumbledore. 

Peter was watching James and Sirius in awe. "You've got three weeks of detention? What are you going to _do_?"

"And, more importantly, how are you going to make detention something interesting?" James asked, his eyebrow lifting. "Because I need an example set for when _I_ have to suffer with Hikage next month."

Sirius grinned. "Hikage just mentioned some whatnot with beetle eyes. No clue what I'm supposedly doing with them. All I know is that beetle eyes are easily smuggled into the food…"

James broke out into a huge grin as well. "Smuggled into a certain Slytherin's food perhaps?"

Sirius nodded still grinning ear to ear. "That's the one, Prongs. Ol' Snivellus won't have a clue..."

"Until we walk up and tell him while he's eating," James finished, mirroring the look of glee that was on Sirius's face.

Peter was trying hard not to outright applaud their brilliance. Remus moaned, shoving the bit of lunch he had talked himself into putting on his plate away and resting his head against the table.

"What's the matter, Moony?" Peter questioned, shifting his attention from the twin grins of Sirius and James to the rather peaky looking Remus.

Remus simply moaned again and pointed up at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, which was currently showing a clear blue sky with wisps of fluffy white clouds. All the Marauders (with the exception Remus) craned their necks around to peer up at the sky, wondering what on earth he was going on about.

"Well Moony, old pal…" Sirius sighed, after peering up at the ceiling for a good five minutes. "You've finally cracked; there's nothing out there but bright blue sky. Unless perfect Quidditch conditions offend you somehow, then I've no idea what you're on about."

James nodded in agreement, though no one knew which statement he agreed with.

Remus glanced up at them and gave them both a 'How can you be such idiots?' look.

"It's not _up_ yet," Remus grumbled.

"Oooooooooh," James replied, as he realized what Remus was talking about a little too late to retain his dignity after overlooking the obvious.

Sirius was still looking slightly confused and was glancing from Remus, to James, to Peter (who was still looking up at the ceiling), then back again.

"_Moony_ isn't feeling well." James said for Sirius's benefit, emphasizing 'Moony' as best he could.

A look of realization dawned on Sirius's face at last.

"I didn't know it was tonight." Sirius said, getting over his confusion rather quickly.

Remus nodded miserable and returned to resting his head against the table.

"Don't look so gloomy!" Sirius's smirk had returned to his face and he was rubbing his hands together. "I almost can't wait! What should we do tonight?"

"Go to the forbidden forest," James answered immediately.

"How 'bout the lake?" Sirius countered.

"We could go look for more hidden passages on the grounds..." Peter said hesitantly.

"Or go to Hogsmeade!" Remus added sitting up straight again, the excitement catching on.

"Let's do it all!" Sirius decided, grinning all the more.

The other three boys nodded in agreement.

"Before we get too wrapped up in planning this out – we've got Quidditch practice in about five minutes," James reminded.

Sirius stared. It took over five minutes to get to the Quidditch pitch on foot. "You've got your broom, right, Prongs? We'll need it – See you later, Moony. You've got a class to get to don't you, Wormtail?"

Peter nodded, already grabbing his bag and quills from underneath the Gryffindor table. "Yeah, detention actually…"

"See you after practice!" James hollered over his shoulder as he dragged Sirius off.

Peter scrambled off as well a few minutes after, leaving Remus alone in the Great Hall.

Remus sighed and shoved a cold piece of chicken around on his plate with little interest. There was nothing to do but wait for James and Sirius to get through with Quidditch practice…

After a while he lost track of time along with exactly how often he had shoved the food around on his plate. Finally getting fed up with sitting there, he stood up, only to come face to face with Severus Snape.

"Oh, look, it's Lupin. Where are your little friends?" Snape sneered, but nevertheless he glanced around uneasily as if he expected James and Sirius to be hiding behind a nearby chair.

Remus stiffened, but he was too exausted to argue with Snape at the moment.

"James and Sirius aren't here. Kindly step aside, and in a moment I won't be either."

A brief look of indecision flickered across Snape's face, but he finally stepped aside throwing in a few last remarks. "Too frightened to hang around without your friends, I suppose. You _do_ look a shade pale today; one good curse could spell the end for you."

Remus inwardly cringed, fighting the urge to do something that James and Sirius would be proud of (such as trying to cast the 1), but instead of cursing the greasy-haired boy, Remus continued on his way, ignoring Snape's taunts.

* * *

After the small conflict in the Great Hall, Remus had finally decided to wait in the common room for the other Marauders. He'd dozed off at some point and was awoken by James and Sirius walking in via the portrait hole. Both were talking excitedly. 

"Hullo Moony, won't believe how great practice went," Sirius announced brightly.

Remus sat up a little in the chair, wide-awake. Ever since first year he'd had a newfound interest in Quidditch. "What happened?"

"Well," Sirius started, puffing himself up proudly, "we had a full practice – let both bludgers loose and even set the snitch out for Prongs to chase around."

"But that stupid git of a beater never showed," James said, making a face.

Sirius nodded. "So it was just I, Sirius Black, against two bloodthirsty bludgers. I fought valiantly and defeated my bludgering foes! Most fun I've had at practice, actually."

Lupin grinned. "How fast did James catch the snitch?"

"'Bout five minutes in," Sirius answered, a touch of pride in his voice.

"Evans was there," James said brightly.

Sirius and Remus burst into laughter at the dreamy expression on James's face.

"Fancy some dinner before it gets dark out?" James asked after the two's laughter had died down.

"Changing the subject?" Sirius asked with a grin.

"Of course I am. Now, how about dinner?" James repeated, not missing a beat.

Remus shook his head. "I think I'll pass..."

Sirius and James exchanged knowing glances before nodding in silent agreement.

Remus didn't like the expressions on their faces at all. "What are you two—?"

His sentence was cut short as the two boys each grabbed one of his arms and dragged him out of the common room, merrily chatting with one another as they marched him down the stairs.

Getting over the shock of having his two best friends seize him and drag him backwards down a flight of _changing_ stairs, Remus started struggling to free himself before he met some unimaginably sticky end.

"James! Sirius! Let me go!"

The two aforementioned boys ignored Remus's shouts, merely raising their voices to talk over him. After shouting out a few more times, Remus quieted down and allowed them to drag him downstairs to the Great Hall. His reasons for this were simple: one, they were ignoring his shouting. Two, no one else was ignoring the commotion, and being stared at wasn't very pleasant.

James and Sirius chatted and laughed as they dragged a slumped over Remus into the Great Hall, ignoring everyone's stares.

This was the strange sight that greeted Peter as he started to take a bite out of his ham sandwich. He was accustomed to seeing some odd things while hanging out with James, Sirius, and Remus, (werewolves, secret tunnels, the great James turning into a mushy, lovesick, blibbering idiot every time Lily Evans came within speaking distance...) but he was far from accustomed to seeing someone dragged bodily into the Great Hall.

The three boys finally reached the Gryffindor table and, after turning Remus around front-wards again, they sat him down beside Peter. That finished with, Sirius then sat on Peter's left while James sat on Remus's right.

Peter stared at the three, looking first at one, then another before asking cautiously, "What's going on?"

James didn't answer for a moment as he nabbed some sandwiches and piled them high on Remus's plate. Since it wasn't quite dinner time, only snacks and appetizers had appeared on the golden plates.

"Remus is starving himself," James answered finally, in a matter of fact tone.

"No, I'm just—"

Whatever protest Remus had been about to make was cut off rather quickly as Sirius stuffed a sandwich into his open mouth.

Peter raised an eyebrow as Remus gagged then resentfully chewed and swallowed the sandwich. "I see."

After Remus had eaten enough to satisfy them, Sirius grinned and produced a small bag from a pocket hidden inside his cloak. The other boys, including Remus, looked at it curiously.

"What's in the bag?" James asked, speaking up and breaking the silence.

Sirius put on a front of mock innocence. "Just a couple beetle eyes."

His false innocence fell away, as he smirked evilly in the direction of an unsuspecting Snape.

Peter peered into the bag and commented, "Looks more like over a dozen."

Remus pulled the bag towards himself, taking a look inside as well. "It's quite a bit over a dozen."

"More like a thousand." James announced with a satisfied smirk on his face after glancing inside.

Sirius nodded and kept his eyes trained on his target, who was also eating an early dinner, and hadn't seemed to notice that he was being watched.

"This bag is only a little over half full..."

Sirius tore his eyes away from Snape at the tone of unease in Remus's voice. "Hmm?"

"Where's the rest of it?" Remus asked with no preamble whatsoever.

Sirius gave a slight shrug. James and Peter had now taken up watch on the designated target.

"Already spread about..." Sirius said giving an exaggerated glance in the direction of Peter's sandwich which the poor boy was absently taking bites of.

Remus started and quickly snatched the sandwich out of Peter's hand, opening it up and scanning the inside, only to hear Sirius burst out laughing after saying. "Paranoid, Remmy?"

Remus allowed himself a small smile at how gullible he had been.

* * *

Later, as evening set in, the small group of troublemakers talked about the look on 'Snivellus' face when he learned that James and Sirius had filled all of the peppershakers with beetle eyes. It had also been quite priceless to see the looks of horror on the other Slytherins' faces who had also come in early for the evening meal. 

They paused in their conversation long enough to make sure Peter touched the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow without being pummeled, then started up their chat again as they climbed into the tunnel beneath the hazardous tree's roots.

Unbeknownst to them, a silent figure hidden in the shadows watched where they would have been if not for James's invisibility cloak. After the chatter of disembodied voices died away, the figure turned and walked back into the darkness.

Remus was looking extremely pale when the other three came in, (Madam Pomfrey had brought Remus into the Shrieking Shack earlier that evening as always) but not as depressed as he had been earlier that day. James was grinning happily to himself that they had managed to brighten Remus's day just a little.

After the general exchange of greetings James reached into his pocket to check and see if the coast was clear to explore Hogsmeade.

"What…?"

Peter, Remus, and Sirius all looked at James questioningly.

"Forget something?" queried Peter.

James nodded, a perplexed frown on his face, "I forgot the marauder's map."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend's stupidity. "And who was telling _me_ off for forgetting it last time?"

James nodded the frown still in place. "I know, I know…"

"But... I saw you get it? You had it when we were in the common room before I left..." Remus said, confusion now evident on his face as well.

James nodded again. "I could've sworn I had it."

Remus shrugged not knowing what could have happened to the map.

"Guess I'll run back and get it," James announced after fruitlessly turning his pockets out. "It's probably still in the common room… I can't believe I left it there where anyone could get it." He sighed, shaking his head regretfully. "At least I left it blank."

"Hurry back; moon'll be up soon!" Sirius called out as James hurried through the tunnel connecting the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow.

James emerged from underneath the tree roots of the Whomping Willow, panting slightly from jogging the whole way. He blinked when he noticed that there was a strange mist floating a few inches in front of him, but in his rush he didn't pay it more that a passing glance as he finished crawling out from underneath the roots and right into the mist.

A yelp of terror made the three in the Shrieking Shack jump in surprise.

"Was that James?" Peter asked uneasily.

"Sounded like it," Sirius muttered. "I'm going to check."

Remus and Peter nodded and announced that they were coming along.

James clung to the grass as he hung upside down with the branches of the Whomping Willow looming above him. Luckily, his glasses hadn't slid too far up his nose and he could still see what was happening.

After calming himself down, he considered what to do. This was obviously some form of magic, but the questions were: 'Is it an illusion?' and... 'Has it actually reversed gravity?'

After considering it for a while, James decided that reversing gravity was a little far fetched.

Swallowing against his vertigo, James ever so carefully wrenched one hand free from the ground and started forward. Immediately, everything righted itself and he found himself dizzy and face first in the grass. James scrambled to his feet and turned around just in time to hear Sirius's surprised yell.

"Could've told you not to go in there, Padfoot!" James said.

Sirius grumbled a few words under his breath that James couldn't quite catch. There was silence for a few moments.

"How in Merlin's name do I get out of here?!" Sirius yelled finally.

"Just go forward!" James called back.

A few seconds later Sirius was standing beside James and brushing off his robes.

"Who set that up?" Sirius demanded, angrily swatting a small grasshopper from his shoulder. The unfortunate creature landed back in the midst, forever to wonder why the sky had fallen beneath it.

James shrugged, unaware of the insect's plight.

"Sirius? James?" Remus's worried voice drifted out from under the tree.

"We're out here!" they chorused.

"What's that fog?" Remus, unlike James and Sirius, wasn't about to blindly step into something strange.

"Don't have a clue," James answered. "Some sort of magic. Seems pretty harmless; just gives you a scare. C'mon through. All you have to do is walk forward."

A very dizzy Remus appeared out of the mist a few moments later, muttering in much the same way Sirius had. "A scare? Honestly, James. Understatements are going to become your strong point."

Sirius was about to open his mouth to give a retort, but Peter's terrified yell cut him off. "For Merlin's sake, Pete!" Sirius grumbled. "You're going to get everyone in the castle awake."

After a lot of coaching (and a fair bit of coaxing) Peter finally stood beside the other three. All of the boys frowned at the mist. The map and, more importantly, the moon, completely forgotten.

"Good evening to you."

Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter all froze. A moment later they slowly turned to face the speaker. Their fear of being caught eased a little when they realized it wasn't any of the teachers, nor anyone they knew. The ease in fear was quickly replaced with a new unease, however. Why would a stranger be out by the Whomping Willow? …why would a stranger be on the grounds of Hogwarts at _all_?

The man who had spoken slowly stepped out of the half light. He was taller than the four of them, and just about Dumbledore's height, Sirius reckoned. He was smiling at them pleasantly enough, but his eyes had a malicious glimmer that seemed to scream 'Don't cross me'.

"G—Good evening..." Remus said, managing to speak while the others gaped.

"What are you doing here?" James asked, finally aware that the moon would be up in the next ten to twenty minutes... maybe less.

The man once again smiled, though a bit coldly this time. "Just out for a stroll, thought I'd have a chat with young Lupin. My name is Romulus."

James and Sirius exchanged glances. No one should have known that Remus was outside of the castle.

"He's not feeling well... and we've got to go," Sirius said, an arrogant smirk falling into place that he usually reserved for professors and other adults whom he detested.

The man, Romulus, shook his head slowly, apparently not fazed by Sirius's confidence. "Afraid I have to speak with young Lupin... And no mere human will stop me."

Peter gave a small squeak of fear and maneuvered quickly to get James between himself and the stranger. Sirius reached for his wand at the same time James and Remus reached for theirs; they all disliked that dangerous tone of voice.

The man had his wand out in a flash, but his smile didn't falter. "Now, now boys. Point those somewhere else."

Sirius was glaring angrily at the stranger now. "You're outnumbered," he informed the man coldly.

James nodded, adding his own demand. "Drop your wand and tell us what you want with Remus."

Peter had managed to overcome his sudden rush of fear and had his wand pointed at the stranger as well, although he was having a difficult time holding his hand steady.

"Three against one... Oh my, you _do_ have me outnumbered," Romulus said, giving a small laugh.

James glanced back, seeing Peter shaking, but backing them up nevertheless.

"Four against one," Sirius corrected.

Romulus's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Do you really think Lupin will help you?"

Sirius glanced back at Remus in confusion, only to see utter perplexity mirrored on the pale boy's face. James and Sirius exchanged glances – this guy was a nutter.

Tired of his games, Romulus turned his attention on a very pale Lupin, ignoring the others completely. "I wish to speak with you, but first I'd like you to get rid of these..." He waved his hand in a dismissive fashion at James, Sirius, and Peter. "...in any way you see fit."

Once again the group gaped at him.

"What... What do you mean?" Lupin asked, a bit of fear creeping into his voice. Not only was there something wrong with this whole situation, but the moon would be up any minute.

"Exactly what it sounds like," the man hissed. "You are a werewolf, are you not?"

Sirius, James, and Peter all opened their mouths to protest, but Romulus continued speaking.

"You shouldn't associate with them! _Kill_ _them!_"

Remus shook his head fiercely. "You're insane..."

A maniacal gleam was now in the man's eyes. "Am I? You'll kill them, though. No werewolf can resist the pull of the moon." He gestured up towards the sky – at the moon that was now gliding into view over the horizon.

Peter wheeled around as Remus automatically looked up at the sky. The pupils in the other boy's eyes shrank to pinpricks as he caught site of the newly risen moon. Peter backed up a bit as Remus grimaced and dropped to his hands and knees.

James turned around at the sound of a low growl. Remus was now a fully transformed werewolf and looking directly at a very frightened Peter.

"Transform, Wormtail!" Sirius snapped, following his own advice as he spoke.

Seconds later all of the boys had transformed into their respective animals; James a stag, Sirius a large black dog, and Peter a rat.

The man smirked as the growling black dog advanced on him. The other boy, the werewolf, was shaking his head as if trying to clear it of something. Apparently the werewolf retained some of his human mind while the others were about.

His smirk turned into an angry frown, he hadn't expected the other three boys to each be an animagus. Romulus eyed the approaching black dog; what were the chances that there would be a handful of animagi roaming Hogwarts?

Slowly, Romulus regained his composure; he knew exactly what spell to use on these troublesome brats. Romulus slowly raised his wand and a jet of blue-white light shot out, with hich he targeted each boy (with the exception of Lupin.) in turn.

James blinked and sat up, surprised to find himself not an animagus anymore. He glanced quickly about for Remus and finally spotted him. Growling, not at him, but at the stranger whose eyes had turned an odd yellowish color. James gaze shifted back and forth from the growling Remus, to Sirius, who was standing before the stranger.

Sirius blinked once and when he opened his eyes again, a werewolf stood before him. He glanced back quickly at the spot he'd last seen Remus. His friend was still there, transformed into a werewolf as well. Sirius slowly reached for his wand as he turned back around. The only explanation was that the stranger was a werewolf as well.

The werewolf before him lunged forward with a furious growl, Sirius took his only option, seeing the speed of the attack, and dove out of the way in a roll. The werewolf abandoned his attack, and focused his yellow eyes on James instead.

James, who was still sitting on the ground, was backing away as quickly as possible hollering out random jinxes and hexes as he pointed his wand at the approaching monster.

Sirius quickly pointed his wand at the creature bearing down on James, and with a flourish of his wand yelled, "_Conjunctivitis_!"

The werewolf spun around, glaring blearily in Sirius's general direction, its eyes strangely clouded from the effects of the spell. James took the opportunity to scramble out of the way, dragging Peter with him.

The werewolf wheeled around once again as it sensed the movement behind it. As the werewolf leapt forward, James desperately jerked Peter away, yet not quickly enough as the werewolf clamped down on the smaller boy's arm… or, more precisely (and to James' and Peter's immense relief), onto the sleeve of his cloak.

Peter yelped and tugged his arm as hard as he could, the result of which was a great ripping sound as the fabric of his cloak tore. Peter cried out again as he and James tumbled backward to lie in a heap in front of a very annoyed, half blinded werewolf.

Sirius's heart felt as if it had stopped beating as the angry werewolf leapt at his two friends, yet before Sirius could attempt another curse, a second werewolf leapt out and crashed into the first.

"Took your sweet time, Moony." Sirius muttered under his breath as he raced toward his two friends, relief evident on his face despite his grumbling.

James was pulling Peter to his feet and staring in horror at the two werewolves as they snarled at one another, biting and scratching.

"Which one's Moony?" Peter asked in a frightened squeak, his eyes darting from one to the other.

James gave a helpless shrug, but still he studied the two werewolves.

"That one!" James said suddenly, pointing towards one of the two. "The smaller one's Moony."

Sirius smiled grimly. "You better be right, Prongs. Count of three – you, too, Wormtail."

Peter nodded numbly and lifted his wand.

"Aim at the big one," James muttered as he too raised his wand.

Sirius began the count, and when he reached three, the three let out a loud yell of "_Expelliarmus_!" The spell collided with the larger werewolf with a blast and a resounding boom that shook some of the nearest windows on the castle.

"We hit the right one?" Peter was shaking like a leaf as he lowered his wand.

James nodded, also a bit shaken. "Bind him, will you?"

Sirius gave a short nod and ropes shot out of his wand, tying up the unconscious werewolf. "Done."

James cast about nervously. "Where's Moony?"

Sirius inclined his head towards the Whomping Willow and then jerked his chin towards Hogwarts. McGonagall and Dumbledore were racing down the steps towards them.

"What on earth is going on?" McGonagall asked, and as her gaze fell on the werewolf they could hear her sharp intake of breath. "What is this...?"

"An explanation?" Dumbledore asked calmly, a frown upon his face.

The three launched into a quickly made up explanation, adding in the essential truths and leaving out anything and everything about Remus. They didn't mention that they were visiting him or that he had fought with the other werewolf, just that they had met up with a strange man while they were taking a stroll and he had attacked them, then transformed into a werewolf and had tried to kill them.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly, said it would all be taken care of and that they should head off to bed. The three boys watched from the entrance hall long enough to see Dumbledore rush off to check on Remus then they trooped up to the common room.

* * *

A few days later all four boys sat in the Gryffindor common room. They had missed breakfast in the Great Hall so that they could chat alone, and Sirius had nicked some toast so they wouldn't have to simply go without food. 

"Well?" James asked, raising an eyebrow at Remus. The boy looked a little worse for the wear, but other than that he appeared fine.

"Well..." Remus said, trailing off before he even got started.

"Well get on with it!" demanded Sirius. "We're missing a decent breakfast for this. What did Dumbledore say?"

Remus gave him a scathing glare, but continued. "Well—"

"Could everyone stop saying 'well'?" Peter asked, an annoyed frown on his face.

Remus gave a look that shot daggers. "Just let me talk!"

He paused a moment to make sure Peter wouldn't interrupt again. "Anyway, after you guys left, from what I can remember, Dumbledore peaked in for a moment to check on me."

The other three boys nodded their heads, encouraging him to get on to the morning after. To be exact: the morning after the morning after, to when Lupin had felt well enough to hear what Dumbledore had to say.

"Dumbledore told me that you three had been attacked. He said that other werewolf had lived somewhere deep in the forbidden forest and was a bit off his rocker... So once you guys tied him up they sent him off to the ministry to be dealt with."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We could piece that together! Why was the stupid git (the werewolf, not Dumbledore, of course) wanting to talk to you?"

"Well..." Remus pointedly ignored Peter when he heaved a huge sigh of displeasure. "Dumbledore said he was probably trying to kill me..."

"Kill you?" James asked, clearly astonished.

Remus nodded. "Yes. He said I was lucky you guys happened to be out there really – apparently that other werewolf didn't like the thought of me being alive."

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Sirius and James chorused.

"It's _skill_," Sirius finished, glancing at James with a grin.

Remus grinned as well before going on. "Yeah, that's about it really."

"Bit stupid of the git to think you'd try and kill us," James mused.

Remus nodded in agreement. "I'd never purposefully do something like that."

"Unless you had a good plan," Sirius interjected.

"And an alibi," James added with a grin.

The group talked back and forth a bit longer before the sunlight shining into the common room indicated that it would soon be time for classes.

"Well, do we all agree never to use our cunning brains against one another? And never team up with whoever is against one of us?" Sirius asked with a grin.

"Of course," Remus said putting his hand out.

"Wouldn't dream of betraying you guys," James said, joining in.

"Nope, never!" Peter agreed, "You guys would get me back good!"

"Right we would," Sirius said, his voice menacing until he broke into another grin.

The group shook four ways, blissfully unaware of things to come.

* * *

_-_ Jade 

_Note:_ Any and all characters and other ideas that are directly drawn from the _Harry Potter_ series are the property of J.K. Rowling. This fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment, and I am making no profit from it.


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